gakuenalicefandomcom-20200223-history
Mikan Sakura
Mikan Sakura is the protagonist of Gakuen Alice. After following her best friend, Hotaru Imai, to Alice Academy, she discovered she has a very special alice and began her adventures as a student at the school. Mikan is voiced by Kana Ueda in a strong Kansai dialect. Appearance Mikan is a young ten-year old girl in her debut. She is average in height with big brown eyes (sometimes depicted as amber or olive green) and a round face. Her brown hair has natural curly tips that reaches past her shoulders, but she usually ties it up in two pigtails. She styles her hair in a different way mainly during special occasions. Mikan looks very much like her mother, sharing the same hair color, eye color, face shape, and also looks like a younger version a Yuka when she lays her hair down. Furthermore, where Mikan bangs split looks like her father's haircut, where as Yuka's bangs does not split in the middle. Character Cute and optimistic, Mikan may look like an ordinary girl, but she is a gifted Alice. In terms of personality, Mikan is good-natured and caring towards her friends. Her clumsiness may lead her to trouble most of the time, but she has a very determined spirit. Her motto's, "Never Lose!" and "Never Give up!" have carried her through countless trials in her life in the academy. Despite being a klutz, Mikan is quite athletic and an excellent runner. In fact, her best best subject is PE, along with Home Economics. She houses a number of talents, which includes singing, dancing and playing the recorder. While she is average in academics, Mikan is considered to be a walking barrier in the school because of her Alice. Mikan is highly upbeat, and several times in the series she is shown to cheer up her friends. She exhibits strong attachments to her friends and loved ones. She has a fear of the dark and ghosts, and can easily freak out. When it comes to romance and love, she is very clueless. She is even oblivious to the romantic feelings that Natsume and Ruka have for her. Apart from that, her innocent and cheerful personality allows her to befriend others easily, whether they are rivals or strangers. Her charms have even managed to turn a lot of students into friends and admirers. She is the type of person who easily forgets her worries and problems. She always tries to make the best out of a bad situation. Often she can be clever and mature when needed. In contrast to her naivety, she can exhibit clever thinking and perceptiveness during critical situations. But she can be somewhat absentminded at times. Background She used to live with her grandfather in the country. She was shocked to hear that her friend Hotaru was moving back to the city to go to an academy for young "geniuses" like her. She was horrified when she learned that the academy was an all-in-one escalator school where the students would not allowed to see their parents until they graduated. When she heard rumors that students were like slaves in Alice Academy, which she felt was a possibility since they gave money to parents for sending their children to the school, she left her grandfather and her home to go after Hotaru by herself. She was then accepted to Alice Academy by Narumi and could attend Alice Academy with Hotaru and many other children with extraordinary powers. While she makes friends later on, she is initially accepted with skepticism by her classmates, with whom friendship she has to win as an "entrance exam" into the Academy. This is emphasized even more by the fact that she does not initially know what her Alice is. There was a challenge "offered" by Natsume, that if she went on a trip to the Northern woods and if she survived all of the horrors inside, they would accept her and she would be officially entered into the academy. Mikan managed to complete it after help from Hotaru, Iinchou, and Ruka, the latter being forced into assisting them while at the same time she finds out that she has the Nullification Alice, which nullifies all other Alices. Majority of her classmates were amazed of her success, but some were still hesitant to accept her. Thrown together with several confident classmates who have already been in the system for a while, she asks what the audience would—"How are people with Alices different? We are all human, aren't we?" She was originally a "No Star" (the lowest rank in the Academy's star-ranking system), but moved on to being a "One Star" after her combined effort with Sumire and rescuing (more or less) Natsume from Reo. A lot of people were doubtful of her at first, however, with her cheerfulness and charms, Mikan eventually gains a lot of friends and admirers in the academy. Mikan is also famous in the academy for being Natsume's partner and for her rare Nullification Alice. Mikan is kept under keen observation by the Academy, because of her two rare Alices and the fact that she is the daughter of Yuka Azumi, who is a member of the "Z" Organization. The Elementary Division Principal (shortened to EDP by fans) is interested in her and her Alices, and even sent Luna Koizumi to watch over Mikan. Despite Luna's threats, Mikan still retains her cheerfulness and closeness to others, except, unfortunately, with Natsume. She is given the title Goddess of Victory by the other students, because she is the main reason why her team won in the sports festival. And after all the bad rumors, which was started by Luna, had cleared up, many students become a lot closer to her. However, they started treating Natsume indifferently. Even the ones who used to follow Natsume now admire and listen to Mikan. Later on, Mikan can use her Stealing Alice efficiently. She knows about her Alice and uses it to heal Narumi-sensei, and she agrees to keep it a secret. Under the order of the Elementary Principal, students began to force her to steal their alices (chasing her around) as a rumor spreads that whoever forces her to show her Alice can move up one star rank. Mikan does not know Natsume knows about her Alice. Also, she became very close with Bear, since while she was being chased by the middle school students, Bear wanted her to steal his soul and return it to Kaname, thinking it would heal him. But when he was injured, Mikan felt so sorry and she fixed him, and if she hadn't cared so much, he wouldn't have been able to move as he did now. So they became much closer, where Bear settles down into Mikan, even when Tsubasa isn't around. Because of her Stealing-Alice, Mikan is transferred to the Dangerous Ability. The Elementary Division Principal explains to her that having the Stealing Alice, they made a mistake in which class she was placed. Inside the principal's room she brawls with Luna, resulting in Luna's Alice being stolen. Mikan is called by the Elementary Principal as his precious 'favorite'. She is actually related to the High School Principal, which turns out to be her uncle and the older brother of her real father. In order to get away from the Elementary Principal, Narumi tells her that they are going to escape in the academy because it will be dangerous for her to stay there (because of her stealing alice), but she was sad because she doesn't want to leave her best friend Hotaru, her other friends and Natsume. When Mikan is transported to the high school principal's office, the principal introduces himself as her uncle and the older brother of her father, Izumi Yukihira, and informs her about her mother. Of course, Mikan is surprised to learn about her relationship with the principal, as well as some facts about her parents With the help of Noda's time travel alice Mikan, Hotaru, Natsume, and Ruka go to the past to learn more about Mikan's mother. Relationships Hotaru Imai Main article: ''[[Hotaru Imai|''Hotaru Imai]] Mikan and Hotaru are best friends, although Hotaru rarely shows it. In the fourth grade, Hotaru transferred to Mikan's small-town school from the city and had a hard time fitting in with the others due to being a genius. At first, Mikan chose to ignore her. However, everything changed when Hotaru confronted Mikan about joining a dance and singing competition. The two won the competition together and became famous in their neighborhood. From then on, Mikan began caring deeply about Hotaru and the two became as close as sisters, even though their personalities are the exact opposite. It was when Hotaru suddenly transferred to Alice Academy that Mikan ran away after her, ultimately becoming a part of the school herself. The two get into fights sometimes (mainly due to Mikan complaining about Hotaru's indifference) and Hotaru does not think twice in hitting Mikan with one of her inventions. Despite being cold and rational, she cares for Mikan deeply and likes seeing her smile. She is aware of Natsume and Ruka's feelings for Mikan, but keeps quiet about it. She also knows who Mikan is falling for. Hotaru can be very protective of Mikan and she just enjoys teasing, or more accurately, torturing Mikan's many admirers. Natsume Hyūga Main article: ''[[Natsume Hyūga|''Natsume Hyūga]] Natsume and Mikan are sworn enemies, mainly due to Natsume's constant abuse, cold attitude and teasing towards the heroine. However, as the series progresses, the two begin developing feelings towards one another. Mikan first encountered Natsume on her first day in the Academy, when he attempted to escape but was stopped by Narumi. Later that day, as she was waiting alone in one of the Academy's rooms with a sleeping Natsume, he suddenly woke up and pinned her down on the couch, asking for her identity and threatening her with his Fire Alice. Mikan panicked and refused to tell him who she was, and Natsume unbuttoned her skirt in an attempt to embarrass her (in the manga, he manages to steal her underwear). When Narumi reentered the room, Natsume promptly escaped on one of Ruka's bird friends. This first meeting planted a seed of hate in Mikan for Natsume, which she would carry with her for a very long time. Mikan continued to despise Natsume for a large part of the series, but she later grows to care about him, constantly worrying about his well being. One of her first signs of protection was when she risked her life to save Natsume from the Anti-Alice Organization with the combined effort of Sumire. As Mikan's feelings develop, Natsume's do, as well. He was often cold and unfeeling towards others at the beginning of the series, except to his best friend Ruka, but is eventually drawn to Mikan because of her cheerful and kind personality. It eventually becomes apparent that Natsume's feelings for Mikan are love, something which he hides and fights for against Ruka, who is also in love with her. Mikan remains as the only girl Natsume calls by her real name, and the two have so far kissed twice (both at the Christmas party). Ruka Nogi Main article: ''[[Ruka Nogi|''Ruka Nogi]] Ruka is one of Mikan's many admirers and good friends, despite also being the best friend of Natsume. Mikan and Ruka's first encounter was when she was being pinned down by Natsume on the couch. Although he is quite shy and quiet towards Mikan, fearing that Natsume will grow angry if they become friends, he eventually softens up to her and develops a crush. When he becomes convinced that Mikan likes Natsume, he grows jealous and determined to win her instead. Throughout the series, Ruka becomes more committed to liking Mikan, but she remains oblivious of his feelings. He has kissed her, but more modestly on the cheek. Ruka's feelings toward Mikan become obvious quite early in the series. He becomes speechless whenever seeing Mikan in pretty/revealing clothing (such as at the Alice Festival) and makes an effort to understand and communicate with her, even when it may oppose Natsume. His feelings are so obvious that several students form a "Watching Over Ruka Club", meant to spy on the boy and his attempts at winning Mikan's heart. Mikan often calls Ruka "Ruka-pyon", the nickname she gave him. "Pyon" literally means "hop" in Japanese, and is a very cutesy way for a girl to refer to her friends. (Ruka also carries a rabbit around with him most of the time, corresponding to the nickname further.) Narumi L. Anjo Main article: ''[[Narumi L. Anjo|''Narumi L. Anjo]] Narumi is the homeroom teacher of Mikan's class, as well as the first one to discover Mikan's Nullification Alice upon her arrival at the Academy. As his pheromone abilities had no affect on the child, he suspected an Alice at work, and allowed Mikan to enter the school. From then on, the two develop a close Father-Daughter relationship, in which Narumi goes at great lengths to protect and nurture Mikan. Mikan begins calling Narumi "father" due to missing her grandfather. (She originally asked if she could call him "grandpa", but he asked to be called "father" instead as he is too young to be a grandfather.) Later in the manga, it is found that Narumi harbored unrequited feelings for Mikan's mother. It is proven that he is not Mikan's biological father, rather that he made a promise to Mikan's mother to look after Mikan during her stay in the Academy, which explains his protective and father-like attitude. Alice Mikan's first Alice is the Nullification Alice, which she inherited from her father. With this Alice, Mikan is able to disrupt any kind of Alice. Mikan can completely negate for an undetermined amount of time the powers of any Alice in close proximity to her. Her nullifying ability at first was involuntary and only comes out in extreme danger, but now her Alice appear to be under her control. Mikan also possesses another Alice called the Stealing Alice. This is the Alice she inherited from her mother. Like the Nullification Alice, the Stealing-Alice is a defensive type but it can be used for offensive means as well. With such Alice in possession, Mikan has the ability to steal Alices of individuals or several beings through physical contact. When used much strongly, her Stealing-Alice may leave the victim temporarily weakened. After the stealing process, Mikan can turn the stolen Alices into Alice stones. She also has the ability to insert the stolen Alices in other people's body, given that they are compatible. Both the Nullification Alice and Stealing-Alice are considered to be rare and unique. Mikan is highly compatible with different kinds of Alice. This stems from the fact that she is related to people with very special Alices. Izumi Yukihira, her late father, had the Nullification Alice, and her mother Yuka Azumi is revealed to have two Alices: the Stealing-Alice and Instant Teleportation. Her uncle, the high school principal of the academy, is regarded as a "god" due to his Alice of Longevity and Alice Detection. Her parents, her uncle, and herself all possess very rare Alices, making them special to the academy. Reception Animax had ran ads for their hottest babe lineup on Jan 1st 2006 with Mikan. In an official Japan Poll for the most popular manga 2005, Mikan was ranked in 16th place for the Best Female Character category. She was nominated for the Saimoe 2005. Mikan was also nominated and got qualified to Round one of the Sailoli contest 2008, beating Chihiro Ogino in Group D. In 2005 Anime Grand Prix, Mikan was in 45th place in the Favorite Female Category. In all the contests, Mikan is the only Gakuen Alice character present. Trivia *Mikan's first name ("蜜柑"), means "mandarin oranges" in Japanese, which corresponds to her light orange Alice Stone color. *In Higuchi's previous work M to N no Shozou and her current work Gakuen Alice both the male and female lead start with the same letter; ("M" Mitsuru and Mikan), ("N" Nastuhiko and Natsume ). Category:Female Character Category:Character Category:Alice Category:Nullification Alice Category:Stealing Alice